Sid: Challenge yourself. Tackle more difficult classes and/or join clubs and activities that will stretch you. Read a book, take up swimming, do something outside of your comfort zone - physically and mentally. Stretch yourself - even during the summer break -- maybe you can look into some internships in some Pharmacutial company for the summer.

Don't let your lack of motivation get in the way of earning a college degree and making something of yourself.

You can 'skate by' in college fairly easily, but once you are out in the 'real world,' you won't be able to remain unmotivated. And employers will pick up on your lack of motivate real quick. The key is to develop motivation NOW. Also - if you have more credentials to put on your resume, it will make you more attractive to potential employers.

I too, skated through high school and college. And even in the first few years of work. These days, at 42, I am probably the most motivated that I have ever been in my life -- and it has payed off of late. I've chosen to take on more and more responsibilities at work, and I am getting noticed, and have developed a reputation for being precise, reliable, and knowledgable. You can't get that without being a motivated person.

The quote in my signature is my mantra these days: "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, 'Wow what a ride!' " You can't say that if you can't get off your lazy behind...


-Z-man.

PS: Geez - I'm sounding like one of those 'How to be successful in Life" infomercials. Maybe I should write a book or something.... ;)

Don't continue in college if you're not ready- but there are caveats to taking time off. Some people, having left, never return. I left high school, went into the service for four years and went immediately to college- after one semester, I realized I still wasn't ready (same frame of mind you seem to be experiencing). So I took ten years off and when I went back I graduated with a bs in two years with a 3.51 gpa. I don't recommend a 18-24 hour course load continuously for two years but it worked for me.

The traditional route is not for everyone.

Guys I'm not about to take any time off... As it is I've got scholarships for 5yrs.... If I take time out those are gone...

I have been sort of looking at other fields... Just not sure what.... I realize money isn't everything... But it will be hard to match pharmacist pay....

smokintr6 makes a good point.... I also paid for my education out of my own pocket :)
This makes a huge difference imo; just like many other things in life that work on the same concept.

btw, pharmacist get all the hot chicks.
good luck and HBD again.

Here's what I can tell you after being in the working world a couple of decades:

Hopefully you develop a strong work ethics. A LOT of people breeze through HS, college, and even graduate school, without working super hard. Very, very common.

But I can tell you that in the professional world, nobody has a high level of success without hard work. Nobody. The road I've seen is littered with the carcasses of high academic achievers with mediocre work ethic.

Z-man, I like your signature and fwiw it helped me to make a decision today :)

buy, buy, buy..... ha!

Sid, the sholarships are important, but don't be a slave to them. That's exactly where I made my first mistake. My scholarships also partially kept me out of the engineering department, because I would have lost them if my grades dropped below 3.3. Trust me, losing the free money may double the cost of your education, but in the process you may increase the VALUE of the education exponentially. It's value you need to worry about, not the cost. Among many other things in life, the cheapest solution is often not the best or even most cost effective. If you did some internships through the school you may not lose the scholarship, just some time on the eligibility clock.

It sounds like a lot of people on the board suggest some time off may not be a mistake. It's not what you want to hear, but sometimes the school of hard knocks has the best pupils... I have a feeling some of my fellow classmates are out there ;)

My recommendation is to start drinking.
Heavily.
"Seven years of college down the tubes..."

Very vague advice. Should he start his heavy drinking while in school? Or drop out and then start? If I was planning on becoming a pharmacist (one pill, two pills , three pills, four pills . . .), I think the heavy drinking wouldn't really get going until about 1:30 p.m. of the first day on the job.

I...I....I.....Damn you and your specificity!

We tend to count in fours.... 4,8,12,16, drink, 20.....

Er . . . don't go into a field just because of the pay. Consider the environment you'll be working in and think about whether or not you can continue in that type of position for 30 years.

A great spot for me to study was in the school library. They always have some nice silent corner. Maybe go there with a buddy and hunker down for a couple hours each day.

For me studying at my apartment was absolutly usless.

Once you are done with the library then you can move on with your day.

Not disagreeing, but a counterpoint...

I went into IT precisely because of the pay. I came to realize that the things I enjoy all cost me money, so I decided on a career that could support my hobbies.

I was a double-major in Finance and what essentially amounted to computer programming. Entry-level finance jobs are low-paying, long-hours, and high stress. There's something like a 98% washout rate in the first ten years. Lots of cold-calling and Glengarry Glen Ross. Don't make your quota on some BS product no one wants to buy? You're gone. But if you are in the 2% that make it, you have a small chance of making big money and being setup for life. In 2000, when I graduated, an entry-level finance job would pay about $15,000 a year plus commission, but you wouldn't be making a whole lot of commission your first year.

In 2000, an entry-level programming position paid $40,000 - $150,000, depending on your specific skills. I came in at the low end of that scale, but I got 8 hour days and a relatively secure job. Now, those at the high-end were for dot-coms that mostly no longer exist.

I decided that I didn't want to work in a high-pressure environment, and had the luxury to make that choice. But to this day, I will tell people that I work to live.